Science Club Activities Guide
Lisa Manning
12/22/03
This is a guide is meant to suggest ideas for an after-school science club. Obviously, after-school
programs are voluntary, so our primary objective is to get the students there and keep them
excited about science. Activities are designed primarily to introduce students to
interesting/exciting science ideas, like motors, circuits, rockets, goofy putty, and squid. A
secondary goal is to relate these ideas to science concepts from the classroom, as well as explain
science topics. All activities are designed to take between one and one and a half hours. (Our
science club meetings lasted an hour and a half; leftover time was used for organizational things
or for snack time.) Also, consumable supplies are necessary for almost every activity – These
range in cost from $5 to $50 for supplying 20 students. With the exception of liquid nitrogen, all
supplies are readily available from grocery and drug stores.
Table of Contents
1. Liquid Nitrogen Demonstration
2. Electric Motor
3. Speakers
4. Paper Bridge Building Contest
5. Squid Dissections
6. Shrinky Dinks, Goofy Putty and Ooze
7. Stomp Rockets
8. Holiday Lights/Electricity
Liquid Nitrogen Demonstration
This is an excellent first-day demo because it grabs the students’ attention and introduces
many science concepts in an appealing way. It includes creating ice cream on the spot, eating
freeze dried marshmallows, shattering a carnation, seeing a balloon deflate, and breaking
racquetballs.
Science Topics covered: phases of matter, density, and elasticity
Materials
Liquid Nitrogen (available at colleges, universities, or anyplace where there is a chemistry or
physics laboratory. Caution: Liquid nitrogen is very cold and poses a severe frostbite risk. Make
sure you keep it a safe distance from students and take necessary safety precautions. You also
need a dewar to hold the liquid nitrogen and keep it cold, as well as insulated gloves for the
person handling the liquid nitrogen. )
VERY IMPORTANT: See the following web page for safety details and
possible trouble spots: http://webs.wichita.edu/facsme/nitro/safe.htm
Metal tongs
Several Metal pie plates (or other shallow containers for holding liquid nitrogen)
Plastic Bucket (or other deep container for holding liquid nitrogen)
Marshmallows
Carnations
Balloon
Test tube or clear plastic soda bottle
2 Racquetballs
Ice Cream Supplies (1/2 gallon, serves about 20 people):
Large metal mixing bowl
Measuring cups
Large Wooden spoon
Paper towels
Plastic cups with spoons/ice cream cones
cream base:
4 cups heavy cream 1 ½ cups half and half
1 3/4 cups sugar
berry mixture:
1 quart frozen strawberries that have been allowed to thaw or fresh strawberries, mashed
½ cup sugar
Total cost: About $25 for ice cream supplies, $5/liter for liquid nitrogen
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Supervisor Activity guide
1. Tell the students that you will be working with liquid nitrogen. Perhaps ask them if they
have seen a liquid nitrogen demonstration before, or if they know what nitrogen is.
Caution them that liquid nitrogen is so very cold that it will give them frostbite
immediately, so not to touch it, and to be very cautious.
2. Pour liquid nitrogen into bucket about 2-3 inches deep. Place one racquetball in the
nitrogen. Leave it there while you perform other demonstrations, turning it occasionally
to ensure the ball gets cold everywhere.
3. Place marshmallows one layer deep on a pie plate. Pour liquid nitrogen slowly over the
marshmallows and stir with a wooden spoon until the marshmallows no longer yield
under pressure.
4. Allow the students to eat a marshmallow. The ‘mallows will be quite cold and crunchy,
similar to the marshmallows in Lucky Charms cereal. Ask the students to describe how
the taste and the texture. Ask them why they think the ‘mallow is cold. Why it is
crunchy?
5. Next, pour some more nitrogen into a pie pan, and place the top of a carnation into the
nitrogen. Stir the flower around by the stem until the petals harden or freeze.
6. Ask a student to touch the carnation petals (it’s safe). The petals will be rock hard. Ask a
student to grasp the top of the flower, or hit the top of the flower on the desk. The petals
will shatter. Why does the flower get hard? What words could you use to describe it?
(Brittle, frozen)
7. Pour some more liquid nitrogen into the pie pan. Blow up the balloon, but make sure the
balloon is small enough to fit inside the pie pan. DO NOT TIE THE BALLOON. Instead,
stretch the mouth of the balloon over the mouth of the test tube so it forms an airtight
seal.
8. Place the balloon inside the pie pan and using the wooden spoon press on the balloon.
Turn the balloon over a few times to ensure the entire balloon gets cold. The balloon will
deflate. In the bottom of the test tube, there will be ‘liquid air’. As the balloon warms up
it will re-inflate. Why does the balloon deflate if there is no hole in the balloon? Where
does the liquid (not water) in the test tube come from? Why does the balloon re-inflate
when it gets warm again?
9. Keep all ingredients cold! Make sure the sugar is dissolved
in the cream base. Pour the cream base into a large metal
bowl. Add one to two liters of liquid nitrogen and stir
vigorously. When the cream has thickened, add the berry
mixture and more nitrogen, if necessary. Continue to stir
until the nitrogen has evaporated (the fog has disappeared).
The recipe does not keep well and is best if consumed
immediately. If it begins to melt before everyone is served,
simply add more liquid nitrogen.
10. Dispense into cups/cones. What makes the ice cream cold?
What is the fog that you see?
11. Use tongs to retrieve racquetball that has been chilling in liquid nitrogen. Ask students to
predict what might happen to the ball when you drop it. Drop a normal racquetball at
room temperature. (It bounces) Drop the normal racquetball and the ‘frozen’ racquetball
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side by side. (the cold racquetball will shatter.) Why does the cold ball shatter? What has
changed about the ball? How is this similar to the carnation petals? To the marshmallow?
12. Being careful to avoid students, you can carefully pour the remaining liquid nitrogen on
the floor, to create a ‘fog’. This is safe as long as liquid nitrogen is not poured directly on
people’s feet.
Science behind the demo:
Physical properties of Nitrogen
Boiling Point at 1atm
Freezing Point at 1atm
Density of the gas at 21.1° and 1atm
-195.8°
-209.9°
1.153 kg/m3
Nitrogen is about 78% of the volume of the atmosphere. By decreasing the
temperature/increasing the pressure, nitrogen can be changed from its gaseous phase (at room
temperature/pressure) to liquid phase. Liquid nitrogen is very cold; at normal atmospheric
pressure it is –196 degrees Celsius. We breathe nitrogen everyday in our air, and liquid nitrogen
only becomes dangerous if it splashes on your skin and causes frostbite or too much of it
evaporates into a closed environment and there is not enough oxygen to breathe.
An important concept for students to realize is that just like water boils when heated to 100
degrees Celsius and changes phase into water vapor, liquid nitrogen boils when heated to –196
degrees Celsius and turns into gaseous nitrogen. But since room temperature is ALWAYS above
–196 degrees, liquid nitrogen is always boiling at atmospheric pressure. Of course, by increasing
the pressure we can increase the temperature at which the liquid will boil. So liquid nitrogen can
be stored by keeping it at a very high pressure where it won’t boil at room temperature. That is
why liquid nitrogen and other gases are stored in high-pressure tanks. This concept is closely
related to density, as well. When matter is heated, kinetic energy is added to the atoms/molecules
that make up the material. In a solid, the matter vibrates but doesn’t change shape. In a liquid, the
molecules squirm around each other, slipping and sliding around in close contact. In a gas, the
molecules are separated from each other and go whizzing about, bouncing off the walls. In
general, solids have the highest density, while gases have the lowest.
Explaining the demos:
When liquid nitrogen is poured over the marshmallows, all of the water in the ‘mallows
instantly freezes. The normally spongy texture becomes hard, which leads to the crunchy
texture. If the marshmallow is allowed to warm up again, it will taste and feel like a normal
marshmallow again. Also, the extreme cold changes the elasticity of the marshmallow.
Normally, elastic materials bend and store the energy from an impact and release it by exerting a
‘restoring force’ in the opposite direction. When these materials get very cold they no longer
bend, but instead they break or shatter, and no longer store elastic energy. They become brittle or
inelastic.
Similarly, the nitrogen freezes all of the water in the carnation petals, which makes the petals
brittle and easily shattered. This is the same reason why the racquetball shatters, too.
The balloon shrinks when you put it in liquid nitrogen because as the gaseous air (80%
nitrogen) in the balloon cools, the molecules slow down and take up less volume. The air
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becomes more and more dense until the molecules are all very close to each other and the gas
turns into a liquid. Liquid air is what you see in the bottom of the test tube. It is important for the
students to realize that no air has left the balloon/test tube. It has simply changed phase. To prove
this, when the balloon warms back up, the liquid will boil and turn into gaseous air again and reinflate the balloon.
Liquid Nitrogen makes good ice cream for two reasons:
1) The mix freezes very quickly, so you get small crystals and a very creamy texture.
2) The evaporating Liquid N2 aerates (nitrogenates?) the mixture, so it doesn't end up as a frozen
lump.
When you add the liquid nitrogen to the cream base (which is mostly water) it cools the water
until it freezes. Conversely, the water warms the liquid nitrogen and makes it boil, creating liquid
nitrogen. The fog that you see is water particles in the air that are condensed into water by the
very cold liquid nitrogen (The fog is not liquid nitrogen itself).
Uses of Nitrogen:
Nitrogen finds use in diverse commercial applications, including:
Chemical Processing ... to inert vessels and oxygen-sensitive chemicals, creating an oxygen-deficient
environment that reduces safety hazards; to propel liquids through pipelines; and to manufacture
ammonia.
Food ... to extend shelf-life in packaged foods by preventing spoilage from oxidation, mold growth,
moisture migration and insect infestation; to rapidly freeze; and to refrigerate perishables during transport.
Petroleum Recovery and Refining ... to improve recovery and maintain pressure in oil and gas
reservoirs; to blanket storage tanks and product loading/unloading; to purge pipelines; and to strip volatile
organic compounds (VOCs) from waste streams or to cool vent streams. Controlling VOC emissions
helps refiners comply with U.S. Clean Air Act requirements.
Metal Production and Fabrication ... to protect metals such as steel, copper and aluminum during
annealing, carburizing and sintering operations in high temperature furnaces; to cool extrusion dies; and
to shrink fit metal parts; utilized as a purge gas with stainless steel tube welding. Also used to support
plasma cutting.
Electronics ... to prevent oxidation in the manufacture of semiconductors and printed circuits; and to
enhance solvent recovery systems by eliminating the use of chlorofluorocarbons for cleanup.
Glass Manufacturing ... to cool furnace electrodes and prevent oxidation during manufacturing; and to
lower air temperatures for optimum cooling rates.
Research and Health Services ... to freeze and preserve blood, tissue, semen and other biological
specimens; to freeze and destroy diseased tissue in cryosurgery and dermatology; and to pre-cool or
insulate Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), conserving the more costly helium.
Construction ... to suppress the pour temperature of concrete mixtures, inhibiting the formation of
cracks; and to stabilize the ground as in the restoration of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
References:
webs.wichita.edu/facsme/nitro/cream.htm
www.chem.northwestern.edu/~ucc/ScopeDemoBook.pdf
http://www.praxair.com/praxair.nsf/0/cdda20a87d5647a485256afc002c46b8?OpenDocument
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Shoestring Electric Motor
Students may have seen this before on Beakman’s World, or at the Exploratorium. It is a nifty
little motor that students can build out of ordinary everyday stuff. A lot of the instructions must
be followed precisely to get this motor to work, and students usually need a fair amount of oneon-one help to troubleshoot. It is nice to have extra helpers around for this activity.
Science Topics covered: Electricity, Magnetism
Materials for EACH electromagnet
'D' Cell Alkaline Battery
1-2 meters of Heavy Gauge Magnet Wire (the kind with red enamel insulation, not plastic
coated) (available at Radio Shack)
One iron nail (2-5 inches long)
Fine Sandpaper
Rubber Band
Clear Tape
Small paper clips
Materials Required for EACH motor:
'D' Cell Alkaline Battery
Paper Cup
Rubber Band
Clear Tape
Two Large Metal Paper Clips
1 meter Heavy Gauge Magnet Wire
One or Two Rectangular Ceramic Magnets (available at Radio Shack)
Toilet Paper Tube, Test tube, or other cylindrical object
Fine Sandpaper
Optional: Glue, Small Block of Wood for Base
Supervisor Activity guide:
To prepare students for this activity, ask them about electricity – where do they use electricity?
What does it do? Ask them what a motor does (converts electrical energy into mechanical
energy). Can they give an example of a motor? What are magnets? What properties do they
have?
This is also a good time to discuss positive and negative charges, and north and south poles on a
magnet. Do positive and negative charges attract or repel? What about north and south poles?
To help the students understand electromagnets, it may be helpful to have them construct an
electromagnet. This shows them that electricity makes a magnetic field.
 The ends of the copper wire need to be exposed so that the battery can make a good
electrical connection. Use sandpaper to sand off the insulation all the way around the
wire.
 Neatly wrap the wire around the nail. The more wire you wrap around the nail, the
stronger your electromagnet will be. Make certain that you leave enough of the wire
unwound so that you can attach the battery.
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When you wrap the wire around the nail, make certain that you wrap the wire all in one
direction. You need to do this because the direction of a magnet field depends on the
direction of the electric current creating it.
Use a rubber band to hold the ends of the wire next to the battery terminals. Secure in
place using clear tape.
Use you electromagnet to pick up small paper clips. See how many you can string
together.
It is a good idea to have one working electric motor to show the kids before they begin. As they
are building the motor, ask them how the different parts of the motor work. Be sure to stress that
the loop of wire in the motor turns into a magnet just like the electromagnet they just made.

Starting about 3 inches from the end of the wire, wrap it 7 times around the toilet paper
tube. Remove the tube (you don't need it any more). Cut the wire, leaving a 3-inch tail
opposite the original starting point. Wrap the two tails around the coil so that the coil is
held together and the two tails extend perpendicular to the coil. See illustration below:
Note: Be sure to center the two tails on either side of the coil. Balance is important.
You might need to put a drop of glue where the tail meets the coil to prevent slipping.

On one tail, use fine sandpaper to completely remove the insulation from the wire. Leave
about 1/4" of insulation on the end and where the wire meets to coil. On the other tail, lay
the coil down flat and lightly sand off the insulation from the top half of the wire only.
Again, leave 1/4" of full insulation on the end and where the wire meets the coil.
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
Bend the two paper clips into the following shape (needle-nosed pliers may be useful
here):

Turn the paper cup upside down. Place the battery on top of the cup and tape into place.
(You may need to break the rim on the bottom of the cup a little to fit the battery into
place)
Use the rubber band to hold the paperclips to the terminals of the "D" Cell battery. See
finished motor diagram.
Stick the ceramic magnet on top of the battery
Place the coil in the cradle formed by the right ends of the paper clips. You may have to
give it a gentle push to get it started, but it should begin to spin rapidly. If it doesn't spin,
check to make sure that all of the insulation has been removed from the wire ends. If it
spins erratically, make sure that the tails on the coil are centered on the sides of the coil.
Note that the motor is "in phase" only when it is held horizontally (as shown in the
drawing).
It also helps to bend the ends of the coil a bit so that as it slips right or left, the bends
keep it in the proper position:
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Here is a diagram of the finished motor:

Troubleshooting Guide:
The wire should be enamel coated magnet wire. This is solid copper wire with a baked on
insulation, usually red, although it can be clear. Un-insulated wire will not work. Wire
with rubber or plastic insulation will not work without some extra work.

Small refrigerator magnets or those rubbery sheet magnets probably won't work. If all
you have is small magnets, try stacking them together. The large rectangular magnets
from Radio Shack work very well. If your Radio Shack doesn't carry them (or you don't
have a Radio Shack nearby), try your local hardware store (such as Lowe's or Home
Depot), they usually have a large selection of magnets for doing things like magnetizing
tools or hanging tools on walls.

The sanding of the coils is probably the trickiest part. Reread these directions and see if
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they correspond with your understanding of these instructions. Take your sandpaper and
sand all of the insulation off of one tail of the coil (the wire sticking out from the coil). It
should be bright and shiny copper all the way around. Now, lay the coil down on
something that is safe to sand on. On the other tail, sand off all of the insulation on the
top half of the wire. When you get through, the wire should be red on one side and copper
colored on the other.

Make the coil per the directions. If the coil is lopsided or the leads coming out either side
are not exactly parallel or don’t come off exactly halfway up the circle, then the coil will
not turn as it should.

Make sure your paper clips are good quality metal and are not covered with plastic or
rubber. Sand them lightly on the surfaces that contact the battery and on the surfaces that
the coil lays on.

If all else fails, make sure you have a fresh battery -- previous errors in sanding the coils
may have created a short circuit that drained your battery.

Have someone else read the instructions without looking at your construction -sometimes a fresh viewpoint can point out problems and misconceptions.
Science Behind the Motor:
Wires are made of metals, which are good conductors. This means they carry electricity, or
electric currents. A current is moving electric charges. Metals are good conductors because they
are filled with electrons that are free to move around. (Plastics and other insulators have
electrons that are stuck to atoms and molecules and can’t move around to carry electric currents.)
When you attach a wire to a battery, it causes the electrons (electric charges) to start moving
inside the metal, or generating a current.
One of the coolest things in science is the fact that electricity and magnetism are very closely
related to each other. The movement of electric charges creates a magnetic field. If you could
see the magnetic field around a wire that has electricity flowing through it, it would look like a
series of circles around the wire. If an electric current is flowing directly towards you, the
magnetic field created by it circles around the wire in a counter-clockwise direction. If the
direction of the electric current is reversed, the magnetic field reverses also and circles the wire
in a clockwise direction. A quick trick for figuring out the direction of the magnetic field is the
right-hand rule: Stick your right thumb in the direction the current is traveling, and the magnetic
field goes in the direction your fingers are curled. This is why you have to wrap your
electromagnet so it always goes in the same direction. If you wrap some of the wire around the
nail in one direction and some of the wire in the other direction, the magnetic fields from the
different sections fight each other and cancel out, reducing the strength of your magnet.
Besides electromagnets, which only work when electricity is flowing through them, there
are permanent magnets. This is what you use to hang stuff on your fridge. Permanent magnets
are ALWAYS magnetic – they don’t need electricity to work. They are made of ferromagnetic
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materials like iron, that have the magnetism ‘frozen in’. Usually this is done by heating up the
materials until they are very hot, using an electromagnet to magnetize them, and then cooling
them down very fast so that they don’t have a chance to go back to normal. Even if one magnet
is a permanent magnet and the other is an electromagnet, they still have the same property: The
north and south poles of a magnet attract, while two north poles or two south poles repel each
other.
Now it becomes clear how the electric motor works: When the un-insulated parts of the
coil make contact with the paper clips, current flows through the coil, making it into an
electromagnet. Since magnets attract, the coil attempts to align itself with the ceramic magnet.
However, when the coil turns to face the magnet, contact is broken (because the insulation on
one tail is now preventing current flow). Inertia (the principle that an object in motion tends to
stay in motion) causes the coil to continue around. When the coil makes are nearly complete
spin, contact is re-established and the process repeats.
Technically (if you look up references on more complex motors), this motor is a single-pole
pulse motor. More complex motors are created by using more than one coil and more complex
set of brushes (the things that connect the coils to the current) so that no matter where the coil is
in the spin pattern, at least one coil is always energized and trying to turn the coil assembly to
align with the next magnet.
References:
http://fly.hiwaay.net/~palmer/motor.html
http://education.jlab.org/qa/electromagnet.html
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Speaker Activity
This is a ‘discovery’ activity, where students are not given exact directions. Instead, they are
given supplies and attempt many different configurations until they find one that suits their
purposes. Getting started is the hardest part of this lab: students may need several hints. Be sure
to highlight students who are headed in the right direction. This activity works well right after
the electric motor activity, and uses the same magnets.
Science Topics Covered: Electricity, Magnetism, Sound
Materials:
Plastic food containers
Paper plates
Paper/plastic cups
Aluminum foil
Other miscellaneous paper/plastic materials to act as speaker base
Heavy gauge wire ( 1 meter per group
Ceramic magnets (2 – 5 per group)
Clear Tape
Boom box or radio with external speakers (you need the kind with exposed, ordinary wires
connecting the speakers to the source)
Optional: cow magnet
Supervisor Activity Guide
The most difficult part of this activity is encouraging students to figure out what to do for
themselves. When you give them some random supplies and tell them to make a speaker, they
are CONVINCED that they will not be able to do it without your instructions. The key is to give
them information and hints without telling them exactly how to do it.
If your group worked on the electric motor recently, it is easier to get started. Ask students,
moving charges create what? (a magnet) How did you create an electromagnet in when you
made your electric motor? (Made a coil of wire with batteries at the end) Which way does the
magnet point? (This is a tricky point… Help students use the right-hand rule to figure out their
magnets point through the coil. Which way is north and south depends on how they hooked up
their battery.)
Ask them how they got the electric motor to move. With a little coaching, they will figure out
that it was the two magnets (one electromagnet, one permanent magnet) repelling each other that
caused the motor to turn. Tell them that to make a speaker they need to once again have two
magnets repel each other to make movement.
The last concept they need is sound. Ask, What is sound? In physics, sound is simply a vibration
of air. To make sound, all you need is something that is vibrating. That is why a guitar string
makes noise when you pluck it; the string is vibrating. (Of course, if something is vibrating too
slowly or the amount of vibration is small, then you won’t be able to hear it.) How slow or fast
something vibrates is called the frequency of the vibration, and corresponds to the pitch (how
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low or high the sound is.) How small or large the vibration is determines the amplitude of the
vibration, and corresponds to the volume (how soft or loud the sound is.) So if they want to
make a sound, they must get SOMETHING to vibrate(or move) using electricity.
Show the students the boom box. Demonstrate that the radio works by turning on the speakers.
Show the students the exposed wires on the back of the boom box. Explain that the wires carry
electricity from the radio to the speakers. In some sense, the wires are carrying the sound in the
form of electricity. The job of the speakers is to transform electricity into movement
(vibrations), which makes sound. This is almost the same as the job of a motor, to transform
electricity into movement.
One important concept for the students to grasp is that the wires from the back of the radio will
supply electricity that is already flowing in a special pattern. (This special pattern is alternating
current, but this concept is too difficult to explain unless the students are already familiar with
the subject.) All the speakers have to do is make small movement based on that electricity. The
radio has already done the hard part.
Now, let the students get started! They can use up to 1 meter of wire, 4 magnets, and any of the
other supplies they want, and they can test their speaker as many times as they want. (You
probably want to limit the wire and number of magnets to make it fair – students will soon
discover that more wire and more magnets make it louder…) At the end of the hour (or
designated time span) the person or group with the loudest speaker wins.
Troubleshooting:
Keep the volume of the radio in a moderate range – too much volume and your ‘speakers’ could
blow a fuse in the radio.
Good Speaker Design/ Things to Suggest/ Science behind speakers
In general, these are the components of a good speaker design:
1. Must have a coil of wire (The longer, the better), with the ends of the coil attached to the
outputs from the radio
2. The coil of wire should sit right above (or below) the permanent magnets. This causes the
two magnetic fields to be parallel to each other. Electricity from the radio is alternating
current, which means it rapidly switches direction. When electricity flows in one
direction through the coil, the magnetic field of the electromagnet will be in the SAME
direction as the permanent magnet, and the two will repel. When the current flows in the
opposite direction, the two magnetic fields will be opposite of each other and the two will
attract. Thus, the coil and the magnet will vibrate. If the students speakers are not very
loud, one thing to check is how close together their magnet and coil are. The best design
is to have the coil ring the permanent magnet without touching it.
3. The coil and the magnet should be independently anchored. This means that either the
coil or the magnet should be held still, while the other vibrates against it. This is almost
always a problem for students. Keep reminding them that they want to have something
vibrate, which means that the two ‘magnets’ must be independent of each other. They
should not be taped together.
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4. To amplify the sound, attach a plate or cup or something to the vibrating object (either
the coil or the permanent magnet, whichever is not being held still) If the thing you attach
is thin and flexible, but not malleable, that will work best. (i.e. a paper plate works better
than a rock or jello.)
5. To direct the sound, make a cone, and attach it to the vibrating object. This funnels the
noise in one direction and makes it easier to hear along that direction.
6. Of course, the speaker will get louder if there is longer wire or stronger magnets. A good
demonstration is to place a cow magnet near the ceramic magnets in the speakers and
hear the speakers get louder.
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Human Arch and Paper Bridge Building Contest
This is a relatively simple, yet fun activity. Students love the competition, and are amazed at how
much weight a few pieces of paper can hold…
Science concepts: Force, Compression, Load: Live and Dead, Effective use of materials
Materials
Several sheets of plain paper such as photocopier paper
Scissors
Ruler
Five paper clips or one meter of tape
Small weights, such as metal washers, pennies, or film canisters filled with sand
Several books to support the sides of the bridge above the ground
Supervisor Activity Guide
The first activity is a simple icebreaker designed to give the students some intuition about what
makes a strong bridge. The goal is to build a human arch that doesn't break when someone pulls
on it.
 Select three kids. Ask two students to form an arch by extending their arms towards one
another and pressing their palms against each other.
 Direct the kids to backup until they are as far apart as possible, without breaking the arch.
 Ask a third student to GENTLY pull down on the arch. (Keep the pressure on until the
arch collapses.)
 Ask the "arch" what happened. Have them describe what happened to the rest of the
group.
 Introduce the kids to force (a push or pull acting on an object), compression (a squeezing
force pushing a material together), live load ( the weight of whatever sits on, travels over,
or hangs from a structure), and dead load ( the weight of the structure itself). Ask them
how this affects their bridge.
 Select two more kids. Ask the group how they could use these two kids to strengthen the
arch.
 Rebuild the arch and try out their ideas.
The kids may need help getting to the idea of creating a buttress-having the two new kids sit on
the floor with their backs leaning against the calves of the students forming the arch. If they are
having difficulty ask leading questions, like "how did your legs feel when 'Sally' was pulling on
your arms?" or "where would you place 'Johnny and Sarah' to help strengthen the arch?"
 Once the kids have buttressed their arch, have the third child repeat pulling gently on the
arch. What happens?
If there is time, regroup the kids and ask them how hard was it to withstand the pulling in each
situation? Which arch design was harder to collapse? What did you feel during the activity?
How did the people sitting on the floor affect the strength of the arch? Can you identify the
forces acting on the arch?
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To give everyone an opportunity to experience compression, load, and butressing break the kids
into groups of five. Ask them to repeat the entire activity, switching the roles within the group of
five students so everyone has a chance to play each role.
Now they can start the paper bridge building contest. The goal is to have students build the
strongest bridge they can out of one piece of paper and up to five paperclips that spans 20 cm (8
inches).
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Lead a short discussion by asking the children to describe bridges they have seen around
the area. Why do we need bridges? What do the bridges look like? What are qualities a
bridge should have?
Explain that the city has asked us to make a bridge that can span a river 8 inches wide.
The bridge must be made out of one sheet of paper and up to five paperclips, and cannot
be attached to the table or desk.
Holding a piece of paper and one of the weights ask how many weights they think a piece
of paper can hold. Explain that their bridge must be able to support the weight of the
bridge, the dead load, but also the additional weight of the washers, pennies or canisters,
the live load.
Divide the children into groups of two and have one child from each group collect the
needed materials.
Each group should think out and sketch their design before building. Once a group has
completed a bridge, have them set it up across the book supports placed 20 cm (8 inches)
apart. Have one of the group members place weights, one at a time, in the middle of the
span until the bridge collapses. The group should record how many weights the bridge
supported.
Ask the group what influenced the design for their bridge? Where did their bridge first
break when it collapsed? How could they redesign that part of the bridge to be stronger?
Have the group redesign and test their bridge again. Are there similarities in the design of
each group's strongest bridge?
Additional questions to investigate:
If you could add one thing to make your bridge stronger what would it be? Try it and note the
difference.
How could you make a bridge that would span 30 cm (12 inches)?
How could you design and build a structure out of paper and paper clips that will support a book
at least 5 cm (2 inches) off the ground?
References:
American Society of Civil Engineers
http://www.asce.org/public/handson.cfm
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Squid Dissection
The students in the science club REQUESTED a dissection. Surprisingly, most of the kids were
not grossed out by the squishy squid. Through squid dissection, students will examine some of
the unique features which have allowed squid to adapt and thrive in Southern California waters
and throughout the world. This beginning dissection lesson will allow students to identify
internal and external anatomy of the squid and the various functions of its organs. I didn’t
include cooking calamari when I did this activity, but the dissection itself took less than 45
minutes, so I am including the instructions for cooking calamari here to lengthen the activity.
Materials for dissection:
fresh or frozen whole squid (Loligo opalescens) (These can usually be purchased in 1lb frozen
boxes in the seafood freezer section of a large grocery store.)
clean dissection scissors or basic student scissors
paper plates
paper towels
newspapers
student worksheets
Materials for food preparation:
portable fryer and oil
2 containers for milk and flour
mallet (for tenderizing)
seasoned flour (such as Dixie Fry)
buttermilk
cocktail sauce (optional)
Supervisor Activity Guide
1. Begin the activity by asking students what they know about squid. (You may wish to refer to
the background discussion “Science Behind Squid”.) Encourage questions, possibly making a list
on the board that you may be able to answer as you continue through the dissections. Possible
questions (relating to anatomy) might include:
How does it eat? What does it eat?
How does it swim? How does it “steer”?
How does it protect itself?
Is it male or female? How can you tell?
2. Using one squid for demonstration, and the diagram of external anatomy (attached), begin to
discuss the external anatomy and relate the features to the way the squid functions in its marine
environment. Important features include the arms and tentacles, for hunting and mobility, the
fins, for stabilizing and turning the squid while swimming, and the chromatophores, which can
change color to aid in finding a mate, or in warning other squid. You may choose to have the
students use the student worksheets in addition to your discussion.
3. Once the students are prepared for the dissection, equip each student, or pairs of students, with
a squid on a paper plate. Use newspapers to cover the area where they are working.
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4. Ask students identify the external anatomy of the squid. Make sure they count the number of
arms and tentacles. Have the students pull back the arms to locate the beak. As they identify the
features, they can fill in the spaces on their anatomy handout.
5. After the students have had the opportunity to explore the external anatomy they are ready to
begin the dissection. Instruct the students to position the squid on the plate with the siphon facing
up.
6. Distribute scissors. (These are the easiest tools to work with; scalpels are not necessary and
can be dangerous.) Ask students to make one long incision from the bottom of the mantle, above
the siphon, to the tip of the mantle next to the fins. Be sure to instruct the students to lift up with
their scissors when cutting so as not to cut into the internal organs of the squid.
7. Spread the mantle open and have the students identify the internal anatomy. Begin with
locating the feathery gills and following those to their base to locate the hearts. Next have the
students locate the gonads and explain the difference between the male and female gonads. Have
the students view both sexes to see the difference.
8. When the students have located all of the internal organs, they can remove the arms and
internal organs from the mantle. Have the students pick up their squid by the arms and while
holding the mantle in the other hand, pull to separate the arms from the mantle. If done properly,
the arms and internal organs will all come off in one piece. Students may notice a the thin shelllike pen inside the mantle. They can pull the pen out of the mantle. (They may need to snip it out
using scissors.)
TEACHING TIP:
Depending on the class, you may wish to demonstrate the entire dissection for the class before
asking them to do it. A video camera or flexcam could make this even more effective
NOW GET READY TO EAT THE SQUID!
9. Have the students remove the fins by grasping the mantle in one hand and the fins in the other
and pulling to remove the fins. Then have the students clean the mantle by removing any of the
excess skin.
10. When the mantle is clean, have the students cut the mantle into strips, starting from the
bottom of the mantle to the tip. Once the strips are cut have the students tenderize the squid by
pounding it as few times with a block or meat hammer.
11. The students should first coat the squid strips with buttermilk, and then roll them in the
seasoned flour mix. The teacher can then drop them carefully into the pre-heated deep- fryer, and
let them cook until they curl up and float to the top of the oil, approximately 1 minute. The
cooking should be done by an adult to prevent burns or other injuries.
12. Garnish with cocktail sauce and enjoy!
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While the students are dissecting the squid, consider asking some questions to encourage
discussion about the squid.
1. Where does the squid fit into the marine food web?
2. What role does the squid play in the ocean ecosystem?
3. What adaptations does the squid have that allow it to play this role?
4. Can you think of other animals that play a similar role in other ecosystems?
5. Have you ever used a squid for food or as fish bait?
Science Behind Squid
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The squid is one of the most highly developed invertebrates. Some of the animal’s
structures explored in this lesson illustrate the ways in which the squid has adapted to life
in the ocean. Its streamlined body and “jet propulsion” which occurs as the squid
squeezes water out of its body through its siphon, make the squid a fast, active predator.
This animal also has a very good defense mechanism.
All mollusks have a soft body with a special covering called the mantle, which
enclosesall of the body organs such as heart, stomach and gills.
Squid can be as small as a thumbnail, or as large as a house. The giant
squid,Architeuthis, can measure 60 ft. in length and weigh three tons!
Squid have ten arms, which are wrapped around the head. Eight are short and heavy,and
lined with suction cups. The ninth and tenth are twice the length of the others, and are
called tentacles. Suction cups are only on the flat pads at the end of the tentacles.
Squid feed on small crustaceans, fish, marine worms, and even their own kind! Theyuse
their tentacles to quickly catch their prey, which is pulled in by the arms and down to the
radula, or beak, which uses a tongue-like action to get food to the mouth so it can be
swallowed whole.
Squid are a major food source for many fishes, birds and marine mammals.
Squid produce a dark ink that they use to escape from predators. When a squid isstartled,
the ink is released through the anus, and the cloud of inky water confuses the predator
while the squid swims away.
After mating, a female squid will produce 10-50 elongated egg strings, which
containhundreds of eggs each. In many species, the parents will soon die after leaving
the spawning ground. The egg strings are attached to the ocean floor, are left to develop
on their own, and hatch approximately ten days later.
Squid are an important part of the ocean food web. Squid are gaining popularity as
afood source for humans around the world. Overfishing is a growing concern because
there are no regulations on squid harvesting.
Southern California squid populations spawn mainly in the winter (December to
March).Squid are seined commercially at their spawning grounds. About 6,000 metric
tons are taken yearly for human food and bait.
References
http://www.nhm.org/seamobile/PDF/clasacts/sqd%20i.pdf
http://giantsquid.msstate.edu/LessonList/dissection.html
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Shrinky Dinks, Goofy Putty and Ooze
(3+ hours total activity time)
This was the favorite activity for the students in my club, and it took two weeks to complete. We
completed creating Putty and Ooze right before Halloween. We worked on the Shrinky Dinks
together first, then split into two separate groups, one working on Goofy Putty and one on Ooze.
The following week we swapped groups. These activities could be run consecutively, as well.
Science Topics covered: Chemistry of plastics, polymers. Viscosity of Liquids, flow. Recycling.
Materials:
Shrinky Dinks
 Shrinkable Polystyrene Plastic ( PS - Recycle Code 6 )
1. Clear plastic salad or bakery boxes.
2. The top of Dannon yogurt containers.
3. Allene's Shrinkable Plastic ( available at Michael's or Hobby Lobby, but expensive
4. Clear polystyrene drinking cups ( SAM's Wholesale Club )
5. Disposable Petri dishes ( not really recommended ).
6. Other types of plastics with a #6 Recycle Code ( clear, opaque, and foamed )
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Permanent markers -- Fine and/or Regular-tipped.
Toaster oven with dial control ( a regular oven can also be used ).
Scissors and Paper punches.
Aluminum foil or Cookie sheet.
Brown Jersey Gloves or Insulated gloves.
Rulers/Meter sticks ( for linear measuring ).
Electronic or Pan-type Scales ( for measuring mass ).
Calipers ( optional -- for measuring thickness ).
Ooze
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Goofy Putty
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One box of corn starch (16 oz.)
Large mixing bowl
Cookie sheet, square cake pan, or something similar
Pitcher of water
Spoon
Gallon size zipper-lock bag
Newspaper or a plastic drip cloth to cover the floor
Water
Food Coloring
Elmer's Glue® (glue-all or school glue)
Borax (Borax brand powdered soap, readily available in most grocery stores.)
Zipper-lock bag (quart size)
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Empty plastic soda bottle with cap
Water
Newspaper to cover the work area
Optional: food coloring
Shrinky Dink Supervisor Guide:
by Wayne Goates, Kansas Polymer Ambassador .Copyright 1997 Wayne Goates.
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Turn on the toaster oven ( or regular oven ) and preheat it to 165-170 C or 325-350 F.
You will have a plastic salad lid in which to work with. Some prefer to cut the fluted
edges from the lid while others choose to leave the edges on. The fluted edges will
actually "shrink" flat, but they sometimes cause curling problems when heat is applied. I
recommend you cut and discard the fluted edges.
Using permanent markers, you should decorate your lid at this time. If you have a
traceable pattern you may use that as a guide or make a freehand drawing. Paper punch
holes and any cut-outs you wish should be made at this time. Once the plastic is is
heated, it will be impossible to add punch-outs as the plastic will be too brittle.
After you have decorated your lid, punched it, and made all of the cut-outs you need, you
should record your initial measurements using the ruler/meter sticks, scales, and by using
calipers:
1. Use ruler/meter sticks to record Length and Width.
2. Use calipers to record the Height.
3. Use electronic scale to record the Mass.
Place the samples on an aluminum foil or cookie sheet and heat in the toaster oven. It is
recommended that you heat the sample with the decorated side "up" so that the ink will
not stick to the aluminum foil or cookie sheet. It is recommended that the teacher do the
heating to minimize any chance of burns and to control the heating apparatus.
Generally the heating process is less than one minute. Trying to speed up the process by
increasing the heat may tend to distort the plastic or make it curl up. In addition, the
melted plastic is harder to handle and off-gassing of the polystyrene may occur.
After you have visually seen that the plastic has "shrunk," remove the foil or sheet from
the toaster oven so the plastic may cool. I like to invert the foil and set the plastic by
patting the inverted foil with my gloved hand. This tends to flatten the shrinky dink.
Cooling is very fast ( less than one minute ). Be careful as the plastic is extremely brittle
at this stage. If waves occur in the finished product, it is usually due to the waves in the
aluminum foil and the setting process in "G" above.
Measure and record the Length, Width, Height, and Mass of the "Shrinky Dink" using the
ruler/meter sticks, calipers, and electronic scales. This may be a good time to talk about
the Law of Conservation of Mass. While the polystyrene may change its shape and
appearance nothing has been lost or gained. The mass should still be the same.
Safety Considerations
As you will be working with a toaster oven at high temperatures, care should be taken to avoid
unnecessary contact with the heating elements. You may wish to use either Brown Jersey
gloves, Insulated oven gloves, or similar protective handwear. It should also be noted that the
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polystyrene used in this activity when subjected to heat will melt. Contact with the skin or
clothing should be avoided. When operating the toaster oven, please follow the recommended
temperature settings so as to avoid potential toxic off-gassing that may occur as a result of
heating the polystyrene. It is recommended that the teacher or an adult do the heating.
Science Behind Shrinky Dinks
Plastics are polymers that are made of long chains of repeating molecules. The plastic in a milk
carton is a synthetic polymer containing the molecule CH2=CH2. This is a monomer. If several
of these molecules are linked together you create a polymer chain. In this activity, the plastic we
will use is polystyrene which is very easy to work with when heated.
Polystyrene cups that are clear and brittle will demonstrate the order of the polymer chains when
you crack the cup to break it. It cracks the direction of the chains that are parallel to the length of
the cup. The cup is extruded in the lenghthwise direction during manufacturing so the chains are
parallel in that direction. The term thermoplastic refers to thermo (heat) and plastic (formable).
Certain polymer plastics have the ability to shrink when heated due to the way in which they are
made. In the production of the plastic salad lids we are using, the polystyrene is heated,
stretched out into a film, and then quickly cooled. This sudden cooling "freezes" the molecular
arrangement of the polystyrene
---- O -------- O -------- O -------- O -------- O ---This stretching can occur in one direction ( called axially oriented ) or in two directions
perpendicular to one another ( called biaxially oriented ). While polymers that are oriented in
two directions shrink proportionally in two perpendicular directions, other polymers that are
oriented in only one direction shrink more in one direction than the other. The plastic may be
reheated again and again to correct curling, but once a piece is dropped and broken, the broken
piece will not mend.
The ability of polystyrene ( i.e. -- "Shrinky Dinks" ) is somewhat unusual. Most solids, when
heated, either expand before they melt into liquids ( i.e. -- metals ) or decompose ( i.e. -- wood ).
When polystyrene is heated at low temperatures ( 250-300 F ), it softens, but does not
decompose and there is no shrinking or change in mass. One of the fundamental laws of physics
is the Law of Conservation of Matter which essentially states that Matter cannot be created or
destroyed, but it may be changed. Heating the polystyrene does not cause a loss of mass, but
there is an obvious change and this helps to prove this law.
When we heat the "Shrinky Dink" material at 300-350 F, these "frozen" molecules are released
from their stretched-out configuration returning to their original dimensions and appearing to
"shrink." It is for this reason that many refer to polystyrene as memory plastic as it remembers
its original configuration prior to it being stretched-out. See the figure below that illustrates the
heated polymer returning to this original "shrunken" state.
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And what about higher temperatures such as 400 F? Well, I for one do NOT recommend higher
temperatures for obvious safety considerations, but the shrink rate would definitely be faster. It
may also produce toxic off-gassing of the polystyrene.
Shrinky Dinks are manufactured by Colorforms; Ramsey, New Jersey 07446 or Milton Bradley;
Springfield, Massachusetts 01101.
Ooze Supervisor Guide:
This amazing mixture behaves like a solid and a liquid at the same time. By the end of the
activity, you will have your hands on, in and all over this wonderful solid-liquid-like mess.
1. Pour approximately ¼ of the box of cornstarch into the mixing bowl and slowly add about ½
cup of water. Stir. Sometimes it is easier to mix the cornstarch and water with your bare hands -of course, this only adds to the fun. Continue adding cornstarch and water in small amounts until
you get a mixture that has the consistency of honey. It may take a little work to get the
consistency just right, but you will eventually end up mixing one box of cornstarch with roughly
1 to 2 cups of water. Notice that the mixture gets thicker or more viscous as you add more
cornstarch.
2. Pour the mixture onto the cookie sheet or cake pan. Notice its unusual consistency when you
are pouring it into the pan. Stir it around with your finger, first slowly and then as fast as you
can. Skim you finger across the top of the ooze. What do you notice? Sink you entire hand into
the ooze and try to grab the fluid and pull it up. Try to roll the fluid between your palms to make
a ball. You can even hold your hand flat over the top of the pan and slap the liquid ooze as hard
as you can. Most students will run for cover, as you get ready to slap the liquid, fearing that it
will splash everywhere. Fear not, all of the ooze stays in the pan...hopefully. If your mixture
inadvertently splatters everywhere, you will know to add more cornstarch. As your students play
with the ooze, ask them to speculate why the liquid behaves in this manner. What causes it to
feel like something solid when you squeeze it, yet it flows like syrup as it drips off your finger?
When you are finished, pour the ooze into a large zipper-lock plastic bag for later use.
Science behind Ooze:
How does ooze act like a solid sometimes, and a liquid at other times? Actually, "ooze" is an
example of what is called a Non-Newtonian fluid - a fluid that defies Isaac Newton's law of
viscosity. All fluids have a property known as viscosity. It is the measurable thickness or
resistance to flow in a fluid. Honey and ketchup are liquids that have a high resistance to flow.
When I think of viscosity, I always remember the television commercial of the child who is
patiently waiting for the ketchup to flow out of the bottle and onto the hamburger bun. Be
thankful that the viscosity of ketchup is greater than that of water the next time you are sitting
across the table from somebody who is pounding on the bottom of the ketchup bottle.
Newton stated that the viscosity of a fluid can be changed only by altering the fluid's
temperature. For example, motor oil or honey flows more easily when you warm it up and
becomes very thick when it gets cold. So, a Non-Newtonian fluid has the same dependence on
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temperature, but its viscosity can be changed by applying pressure. When you squeeze a handful
of ooze, its viscosity increases so it acts like a solid for a split second. When you release
pressure, the ooze behaves just like a liquid.
Ironically, the cornstarch will not stay mixed with the water indefinitely. Over time, the grains of
cornstarch will separate from the water and form a solid clump at the bottom of the plastic
storage bag. It is for this reason that you must not pour this mixture down the drain. It will clog
the pipes and stop up the drain. Pour the mixture into a zipper-lock bag and dispose of it in the
garbage.
Goofy Putty Supervisor Guide
1. Make the Borax water: Add 1 tablespoon of Borax powder to 1 cup of water. Remember that
one cup of Borax water will make many batches of Goofy Putty.
2. Preparing the Glue: Measure 2 tablespoons of Elmer's Glue into a zipper-lock style bag. Add 1
tablespoon of plain water to the bag and mix. The additional water makes the glue very runny. If
you have food coloring, add 4 or 5 drops now.
3. Making Goofy Putty: Add 1 tablespoon of the Borax water to the bag of watered-down glue.
Seal the bag and squeeze for 2 minutes in order to thoroughly mix the liquids. What is happening
to the runny glue? What changes are taking place?
Science behind Goofy Putty:
The mixture of Elmer's Glue with Borax and water produces a putty-like material called a
polymer. In simplest terms, a polymer is a long chain of molecules. You can use the example of
cooking spaghetti to better understand why this polymer behaves in the way it does. When a pile
of freshly cooked spaghetti comes out of the hot water and into the bowl, the strands flow like a
liquid from the pan to the bowl. This is because the spaghetti strands are slippery and slide over
one another. After awhile, the water drains off of the pasta, the strands start to stick together. The
spaghetti takes on a rubbery texture. Wait a little while longer for all of the water to evaporate,
and the pile of spaghetti turns into a solid mass -- drop it on the floor and watch it bounce. Many
natural and synthetic polymers behave in a similar manner.
Polymers are made out of long strands of molecules like spaghetti. If the long molecules slide
past each other easily, then the substance acts like a liquid because the molecules flow. If the
molecules stick together at a few places along the strand, then the substance behaves like a
rubbery solid called an elastomer. Borax is the compound that is responsible for hooking the
glue's molecules together to form the putty-like material.
There are several different methods for making this putty-like material. Some recipes call for
liquid starch instead of Borax soap. Either way, when you make Goofy Putty you are learning
about some of the properties of polymers.
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Additional Information:
The Elmer's Glue version of slime is very easy to make, but it's not exactly what you'll find at the
toy store. So, what's the "real" slime secret. It's an ingredient called polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)
which produces a superior slime. Longer lasting, more transparent... it's the real deal.
References:
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Cockpit/8107/polystyrene.html
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/00000039
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/00000047
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Stomp Rockets
This is an activity for a day when it is sunny outside. Ask students to collect 2 liter bottles so they
can each take their rocket launcher home with them.
Science Topics: Pressure, Force, Aerodynamics, Air Pressure
Materials:
Launcher:
 Empty 2-liter bottle
 Duct Tape
 About 60 centimeters (2 ft) of PVC pipe with ½-inch inner diameter. (Can be found in the
Plumbing section of hardware store)
Ask the hardware store to saw your PVC pipe
into the lengths you need.
If they won’t you’ll also need a hacksaw blade;
wrap one end of the blade with duct tape to
make a "handle" and cut the pipe yourself.
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About 1 meter (3 feet) of clear flexible vinyl tubing with ½-inch inner diameter and 5/8 inch outer diameter (the type of tubing doesn’t matter, as long as you can tape one end to
the neck of the soda bottle and the other end to the PVC pipe)
Meter stick
For each Rocket:
 2 pieces 8.5 by 11-inch Scrap Paper
 30 cm (1 foot) of same PVC pipe used for launcher (for every five students)
 Index cards
 Markers
 Paper clips
 Small Washers
 Scissors
 Clear tape
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PRIZES (candy?) for best rockets
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Supervisor Activity Guide:
To Begin the Activity:
At the Exploratorium, we introduce this activity by launching a rocket once, inside the room, just
to show the group how cool it is. If you do this, be sure to point the launcher away from the
group, in a direction where the flying rocket won't hurt anyone or anything.
After launching the rocket, blow into the PVC pipe to re-inflate the soda bottle so you are ready
to launch again. We suggest that you put your hand around the end of the pipe to make a
mouthpiece and put your lips against your hand
After students stomp on the rocket launchers more than 10 or so
times, the launchers will lose effectiveness and may not even reinflate. It is best to have one launcher per student, or several extras
on hand. It takes about 10 minutes to make a launcher, so you can
do this before hand or have the students make them themselves.
To Make Rocket Launcher:
 Remove cap from bottle.
 Insert about an inch of flexible tubing into
the bottle opening. Tape it in place with duct
tape. Try to make the connection between
the tubing and the bottle airtight.
 Push the PVC pipe against the other end of
the flexible tubing. (Don’t try to insert the
tubing into the PVC pipe.) Tape the tubing
and the PVC pipe together. Again, try to
make the connection airtight.
There are many ways to proceed with the rocket activity. One fun way is to have the students
make a very basic rocket, go outside and launch, measure how far they go, then come inside and
make adjustments (add nose, fins, etc.) and then go out to launch again. This helps the students
understand how aerodynamic design improves the rockets.
To make the basic rocket:
 Roll a sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" paper into a cylinder that will fit
over the tube. The paper should not be tight around the PVC
pipe, but should be able to slide off easily. Tape your paper
tube so it stays rolled up, and slip it off the PVC pipe. Put the
PVC pipe aside.
 You can roll your sheet of paper the long way or the short way.
 With scissors, clip the end of the tube to make it pointed. Use
tape to seal the point so it’s airtight. This will be the "nose" of
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the rocket.
If desired, have students tape a few washers/pennies to the back of a folded index card,
and write their name on the front. This will act as a marker for where their rocket landed.
As the students finish creating the basic rocket, have them sign up for a launch position:
If they launch in a set order they won’t go crazy when they get outside.
Launch procedure:
 Go outside. Have students take turns volunteering to be ‘aimers’. Place the rocket on the
end of the launcher and have the ‘aimer’ aim the PVC pipe in a way so that they think the
rocket will travel the farthest distance measured on the GROUND. (They should aim at
around a 45 degree angle from parallel to the ground.) Ask the students how far away the
rocket would go if the ‘aimer’ aimed straight up. Would it go further if the ‘aimer’ aimed
parallel to the ground, or slightly up in the air?
 Have the student who made the rocket stomp on the 2-liter bottle. Then either 1) place a
weighted marker on the ground where their rocket landed or 2) measure with the meter
stick how far their rocket traveled and record it.
 Tell the students they get another chance to make their rocket better, and go back inside
the work tables.
Now ask the students what they could do to make their rockets better. Ask them about paper
airplanes they may have made in the past. How can they make their rockets more stabile in
flight? Rocket fins, of course:
 Rocket fins will help your rocket fly straight. Fins are usually triangular shapes. Cut fins
from a 3" x 5" card or some other stiff paper. Here’s one way to cut them from a 3" x 5"
card.
 Fold the card in half to make a short rectangle. Unfold it and cut along the fold line.
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Stack the two halves of the card. Draw a line from one corner of the folded rectangle to
the other. Cut along the line you’ve drawn and you’ll have four fins.
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Tape the fins to the sides of the rocket at the base. Be sure to tape both sides of the fin to
the rocket.
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Have students make another weighted marker. Go back outside and repeat the Launch
procedure.
Now ask the students what else might improve the distance of their rocket. With some propting,
they will come up with the idea of a nose cone. You can weight the nose cone to make it even
better:
 Cut out a half circle from a 3 by 5 index card. Tape one or two washers/paperclips near
the center at the top of the half circle. Overlap the two sides of the half circle to form a
cone (with the weights at the apex) and tape the cone together.
 Taping the nose cone to the rocket is tricky. One way to do it is to fold a piece of tape in
half with the sticky side out. Attach one half to the rocket body and one half to the inside
of the nose cone. Repeat 3 times around the rocket.
 Make another weighted marker, and repeat the launch procedure
You can try other variables as well – angle of aim for the rocket, weighting the body of the rocket
with washers, shortening or lengthening the rocket, making the rocket tighter or looser on the
PVC pipe. Let the students be creative. Also, let the students use colored pencils and markers to
decorate their rockets.
Sometimes the rockets themselves will be too tight or too loose
on the PVC pipe. The rocket will have to be disassembled and
rolled tighter/less tight before continuing. Tell students to be
careful not to jam their rockets onto the end of the PVC pipe, as
that will rip the inside of the rocket and make it impossible for
them to launch again.
Science Behind Stomp Rockets
Rockets move when a force acts on them. There are many similarities and differences between
stomp rockets and space shuttles used by NASA. Our stomp rockets are propelled by air
pressure. Stomping on the bottle causes a rapid increase in the air pressure in the bottle. Because
air always moves from a region of high pressure to low pressure, the air rapidly exits from the
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high pressure area inside the bottle to the low pressure outside air through the PVC opening. This
quickly moving air provides a force that propels the rocket upward. Once the rocket is aloft,
gravity and the effects of air resistance are what determine its flight. Gravity is a force that
always pulls objects towards the ground. Air resistance is a force that acts when air (which is
everywhere in the sky) pushes against the rocket as it tries to fly in a straight line. It slows the
rocket down. (Just like water slows you down when you try to walk through it, air slows you
down as well.) To help your rocket cut through air, you try to do two things. Stabilize your
rocket, and make it more aerodynamic. You stabilize your rocket by adding fins. This prevents
it from wobbling in the air and losing energy. You want your rocket to use all of its energy going
forward, not side-to-side. You make your rocket more aerodynamic by adding a nose cone. This
helps the air to travel smoothly around the sides of your rocket. Think of very fast airplanes and
cars. They are all very smooth and pointy in the front, which helps them ‘cut’ through the air.
This makes them faster and more aerodynamic.
NASA space shuttles are made with nose cones and fins to make them aerodynamic and stable,
too. However, they use a different type of force to make them go. It is called solid-fuel
propulsion. NASA rockets throw fuel out of the back of the rocket. By Newton’s law, every
action (force) has an equal and opposite reaction. So when the rocket engine throws stuff out the
back, the rocket itself has to move forward. Think of wielding a giant fire hose – the water
shoots out one way, causing the person holding the hose to be pushed the other way. If you are
interested in how space rockets work, here is a good article:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/rocket1.htm
References:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/math_explorer/tfl_stompRockets.html
http://www.raft.net/resources/ideas/stomp%20rocket.pdf
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Holiday/Christmas Lights
This is a great activity close to the Holidays. It is an excellent ‘discovery’ activity, where you
give the students few directions, but instead let them try different possibilities until they come up
with one that works. They can take their ‘strands of light’ home with them.
Topics covered: Electricity, Circuits, Light bulbs, bimetallic strips
Materials for each child:
Scrap paper
One 9 Volt battery (Typical ‘C’ and ‘D’ batteries do not have enough voltage to light Christmas
lights. CAUTION: If a 9 volt battery is short-circuited it will get hot very quickly, and left for
several minutes it could get hot enough to cause burns.)
Aluminum foil
Rubber band
Scissors
Transparent tape
2.5 V Miniature Christmas lights (you can either buy packs of replacement bulbs or buy entire
strands and scavenge the bulbs from the strand. Also, replacement ‘blinker’ lights are really
cool.)
One extra Christmas light strand for demonstrations (50 lights, 2.5 V)
Supervisor Activity Guide/ Science Behind the Activity
You can approach this as either a ‘discovery’ activity or a ‘planned’ activity. The discovery
method takes longer and requires a little more one-on-one attention, but ultimately leaves the
kids feeling like inventors.
First, caution the students not to short-circuit their batteries. Explain that this is when there is a
direct metal path from the positive terminal to the negative terminal of the battery. Show them
what a short circuit would look like. If a battery starts to get hot, it is almost certainly shortcircuited. Tell students that if their battery starts to get hot, they should IMMEDIATELY
disconnect the circuit.
Next, explain that aluminum foil is a conductor and will be used as the ‘wires’ in their holiday
lights. Show how the rubber band can be used to ensure good connections between the foil and
the battery terminals.
Show them the two wires leading out of the miniature light bulb. If the two wires touch each
other, the light will be sort circuited, so it is very important to keep the wires separate. Tell them
that a light bulb lights up when electricity flows in one wire and out the other. Connecting the
two wires inside the bulb is a special wire called a filament, which glows white hot when
electricity goes through it. That’s what lights up a light bulb.
Ask them to make a circuit that lights up a single Christmas light. Challenge them to make a
circuit that stays on when they aren’t touching it. (Suggest anchoring the battery on a piece of
scrap paper and taping down the aluminum foil connections.)
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Tell the students there are two different ways of connecting two lights together and making them
both light up – Called ‘in series’ and ‘in parallel’. When in series, the lights will shine half as
bright as a single light alone. In parallel, the lights will both shine just as bright as a single light
alone. Challenge the students to connect their two lights in two different ways: Once where the
lights are just as bright as a single light, and a different way where the two lights are noticeably
dimmer. Give the first student to demonstrate both a prize.
Here is one suggested set-up for the Christmas lights (the entire thing is mounted on scrap
paper):
If the top ‘switch’ is closed, (the right-hand piece of aluminum wire is connected to the
middle wire in the diagram) then the top two bulbs will light up. They are in series. If the bottom
switch is closed (and the top switch is also closed), the bottom bulb will also light up. It is in
parallel with the top two bulbs. It will be twice as bright as the top two bulbs.
If the students are interested or start asking questions, you can tell them about current and
voltage. When two lights are in series, they get the same amount of current, but each gets half as
much voltage. When the lights are in parallel, they get the same amount of voltage, but half as
much current. So it is the voltage that causes the lights to get brighter or become dimmer.
Compare how bright a light is in a 9-Volt battery circuit to how bright the lights are in a normal
strand of Christmas lights. How many lights are there in the strand? (50) On the box for the
lights it should say how many volts each light requires (2.5 V). How many volts does the strand
need? (2.5*50) How many volts are supplied through an outlet? (120 V ~= 2.5*50)
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The students can then make their own designs/Christmas light strands. If the lights do not light
up, this either means that the light is short circuited (i.e., there is a metal path from the positive to
the negative terminal of the battery that by-passes the light) or that the connection between the
wires(of the light) and the aluminum foil is bad. Also remind them that too many lights in series
will not glow very brightly at all.
Ask the students to make a switch for their light strand. They can turn their lights on and off by
closing and opening their circuit. This is how real light switches work, too.
Ask the students if they have ever had a strand of lights where the whole strand would go dark if
one bulb was dead. Have they ever had light strands that would keep glowing even if one bulb
was dead? Most newer strands stay lit. If you look closely at a bulbs in these newer sets, you can
see the shunt wire wrapped around the two posts inside the bulb. The shunt wire contains a
coating that gives it fairly high resistance until the filament fails. At that point, heat caused by
current flowing through the shunt burns off the coating and reduces the shunt's resistance. (A
typical bulb has a resistance of 7 to 8 ohms through the filament and 2 to 3 ohms through the
shunt once the coating burns off.) In the photo below, the filament is the very thin wavy wire
between the two posts, and the red arrow points to the shunt.
Another cool thing to look at is an old-fashioned blinker light, the kind with a red tip. (You can
buy replacement packs of 3 at drug stores.) Tell the students that if they want their lights to
blink, they can replace one of their lights with a blinker light. In a minute or two (once the light
starts to get hot), their circuit will begin blinking.
How does the blinker light work? It has an extra piece of metal inside called a bi-metallic strip.
The current runs from the strip to the post to light the filament. When the filament gets hot, it
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causes the strip to bend, breaking the current and extinguishing the bulb. As the strip cools, it
bends back, reconnects the post and re-lights the filament so the cycle repeats. Whenever this
blinker bulb is not lit, the rest of the strand is not getting power, so the entire strand blinks in
unison. Obviously, these bulbs don't have a shunt (if they did, the rest of the strand would not
blink), so when the blinker bulb burns out, the rest of the strand will not light until the blinker
bulb is replaced.
References:
http://home.howstuffworks.com/christmas-lights2.htm
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Ideas for next quarter
1/4/04
tie-dye T-shirts
science concepts:
solubility, capillary action
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/00000032
Iron in your breakfast cereal
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/00000034
Imploding soda can
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/00000043
Vegetable Acid/Base indicators
‘Cup and Saucer Science’ book from Wendy
hot air balloon p. 64 bill nye the science guy book
Lemon batteries p.102 bill nye the science guy book.
Building a barometer p.137 Bill nye the science guy
Electrolysis p. 19 bill nye the science guy book
Marine Touch tank field trip
Robotics
Salt Volcano separate worksheet from science explorer
(not enough time for an entire club meeting)
Optical Illusions day – spot pictures, moiré patterns (pg. 60-3 in the exploratorium book)
Mealworms (p 123 in Science on a shoestring book)
Starfish dissections
Acid Rain experiment p 80 shoestring book
Design a traveling seed
Foam Towers (hand out inside the exploratorium book)
Black marker filter p 22 exploratorium book
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Cups of mystery – exploratorium p. 98
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